The Kentucky men have picked up two more verbal commitments to join the previously-committed Graham Baird.
Phillip Emerson is the two-time defending Pennsylvania AA (small school) state champion in the 100 yard free, and the one-time defending champion in the 50 yard free. He swims for the Erie Aquatics Club and Franklin High School, and is a swimmer that has been primarily focused on YMCA and high school competition for most of his career.
His best times are and 45.63 in the 100 yard free, plus a 20.90 in the 50 yard free.
Emerson was incredibly talented as a young swimmer; in his freshman year in Pennsylvania, as part of the Franklin runner-up 200 medley relay, he split 20.88 on the anchor – one of the faster splits you’ll see in a high school freshman. He hasn’t been able to improve much upon that relay split since (though, he has a little) but his flat starts times have steadily crept downward.
Freshman: 46.71 (three relays)
Sophomore: 21.05/46.04
Junior: 20.90/45.63
The other addition for the Wildcats is Josh York from Quest Swimming in Virginia. He has best times of 50.47 and 1:48.14 in both the 100 and 200 yard backstrokes. He’ll join 2013-2014 sophomore Zachary Zandona and sophomore Michael Christian as the program’s top backstrokers when he arrives on campus.
wpDiscuz
For a solid high school kid his time progression is not as drastic as you would think. 46.7 as a freshman to 45.6 as a Junior.
they also picked up an aussie freestyler
Notable are Emerson’s YMCA SC Nationals times this past spring include flat starts of:
50 Free: 20.78
100 Free: 45.54.
Additionally, 2013 relay splits from PIAA meet include 20.44 and 44.93 in the 50/100 respectively.
Watch this kid flourish at the college level. Coming from a program which trains for less than 90 minutes/ day, 4 months out of the year.